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Edmonton Oilers' Draisaitl has hilarious response to playing against McDavid at Olympics

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Jan 30 2026, 6:56 pm
Edmonton Oilers' Draisaitl has hilarious response to playing against McDavid at Olympics
Nick Wosika/Imagn Images

Edmonton Oilers fans have plenty to be excited about.

Not only are the Oilers sitting second place in the Pacific Division, but their two superstars will have the opportunity to compete on the Olympic stage for the first time in their careers. Even better, they may be going head-to-head against one another.

Connor McDavid will be looking to guide Canada to a gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026, while Leon Draisaitl will be starring for Germany.

Should Draisaitl help lead Germany into the playoff round, there is a chance that they could wind up facing off against the Canadians.

The two have gone head-to-head on three separate occasions. One came at the 2016 World Championship, where McDavid picked up an assist in a 5-2 Canadian win. The other two meetups came during the exhibition phase at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. McDavid, playing for the North America U24 squad, came out victorious in both, defeating Draisaitl and Team Europe 4-0 and 7-4.

Despite the lack of success against his captain in the past, Draisaitl, known for his dry sense of humour, sees things going differently this time around should they go head-to-head for a fourth time.

“It’s scary for him,” Draisaitl joked with reporters.

After his sarcastic dig, however, the 30-year-old explained that both are going to do everything in their power to come out on top.

“That would be really special, of course. It might feel a little weird, but when the puck drops, he’s going to look to give his team the chance to win, and I’m going to do the same for our country. I think that’s what makes those tournaments so great.”

Though Canada would be considered the heavy favourites in that potential matchup, Germany won’t necessarily be an easy out.

Alongside Draisaitl, they will also have some other prominent NHLers, including JJ Peterka, Tim Stutzle, Nico Sturm, Moritz Seider, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Oilers recent call up Joshua Samanski will also be on the roster.

Oilers fans will be rooting for Germany in the early going, not only to see Draisaitl succeed, but to set up the potential of him and McDavid, two of the game’s best, going up against one another.

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